Miami Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King wants to run it back at UM for another attempt in 2021.
King announced on social media on Saturday afternoon that he would use his final year of college-level eligibility in 2021 to continue as a full-back for UM.
The NFL Draft will have to wait.
“Miami is a great school,” said King after making the announcement. “I thought I couldn’t miss the opportunity to come and play another year. The NFL will always be there, but my opportunity to play for the Miami Hurricanes is passing quickly and I want to make the most of it. I’m really excited to be back with the guys in 2021. ”
Speaking to the media on Saturday afternoon, King made it clear that it was a difficult decision.
“If you had talked to me two months ago, you probably would have said you were declaring me for the NFL Draft,” said King. “It’s always been a dream to play in the NFL and I feel like I could have made a team this year, but I’m looking at 30 or 40 years down the road. I still have a lot of work to do to make that step for the NFL. “
King says the NFL’s Draft Advisory designed him to be selected from the fourth to sixth round as a hybrid player. He feels he can improve that draft stock with a strong 2021 season.
King had a significant impact for the Hurricanes as a full-back in 2020, passing 2,573 yards with 22 touchdowns and five interceptions, completing 63.6% of his passes during the ten games of the regular season. King also ran for 520 yards and four touchdowns.
How big is King’s addition? According to Pro Football Focus, King ranked as the 11th best passer in the country (among quarterbacks who had at least 100 relegations this season).
As a runner, King ranks seventh in the country in scrambling yards with 293 over his 672 yards won on the ground coming as a scrambler. King added 26 running attempts that lasted at least ten yards, which is tied for third place in the country. He also averages 3.99 yards per run after contact, which led the Hurricanes in 2020 and is eighth best among quarterbacks who have totaled at least 20 runs in the season.
All this to say that Miami hurricanes will welcome one of the country’s best double threat quarterbacks in 2021.
King’s steadfastness as a defender was the difference for the Hurricanes in a scoreboard win over Virginia, NC State and Virginia Tech. Those games were decided by an average of three points and King had an average of 335 passing yards and two touchdowns against zero interceptions. He also ran an average of 49 yards and just under a touchdown in those games.
One of the key factors in King’s decision to return to Miami was the opportunity to play in the same offensive system for two consecutive years.
“I never did that in my college career,” said King. “Playing on the same system and being familiar with what we’re going to do, I couldn’t let that go.”
With that in mind, along with the players who are due to return to UM in 2021, King is excited about how good hurricanes can be in 2021.
“I think the sky is the limit,” said King. “We can be very good next year. There are many things to improve and we just have to work every day. I think this program is going in the right direction. This was a good year, but we have a lot to improve. “
King also shared the role that coach Manny Diaz played in his decision to stay.
“Coach Diaz is a great coach,” said King. “He is a player’s coach. He wants to do what is best for the players. He keeps it real with you. We had a lot of conversations about the NFL and he didn’t pressure me, he just gave me the information and let my family and I make the decision ”.
The next order of business for King is to lead the Hurricanes in a Cheez-It Bowl fight against the State of Oklahoma (7-3).
King is excited about this challenge.
“We can focus on bowling now,” said King. “The Bowl games are kind of weird, because the team that wants to be there and wants to win is likely to win the game. It is very important for us. We have an unpleasant taste in the mouth of the North Carolina game and I feel that the last two weeks of practice have been good. I hate to lose more than anything, so we’re trying to go out there and make a point. “
The Cheez-It Bowl will take place on December 29 in Orlando, Florida. It will be broadcast on ESPN and is scheduled to start at 5:30 pm Eastern Time.
At the time of publication of this article, hurricanes were a 2.5 point disadvantage, according to William Hill Sportsbook.